The Heart's Golden Blaze
by beastoftheast92
Summary: IsaacxMia. After an event occurs which tears the group apart, two hearts realize true feelings. NEW CHAPTER OUT, FINALLY :
1. Chapter 0 Prologue

So. It's here. My first release. This is indeed a Mudshipping, but mite feature others later on, if my collective soul so votes. I make my own original storyline, but I must admit, I was influenced by other works. So, I look forward to any reviews, but please no flames. All criticism, as long as it is constructive, is appreciated. Look for me on xbox live, with the same gamertag as my profile, beastoftheast92. So, without further ado, I welcome you to my story. Thanks,

Patrick

(PS: All my thanks to O-Mega Lead's awesome beta skills. Without the awesomeness, this work would not be here. The leftover thanks go to Amanda Chichoraki for the push that made me start this deal.)

(PPS: While I may own this story, I claim no rights to the awesomeness of any of Camelot's creation)

Chapter 0 - Prologue

Mia allowed a small sigh of relief to escape her lips as the caravan bearing Master Hammet rolled away from the secret entrance to Lunpa. Glancing around at her companions, she saw that Garret and Ivan were being as lively as usual, high-fiving with huge grins on their faces. "All right, Ivan! We managed to save your master, even after all those people who told us that we couldn't!" Garret said happily.

"Yeah, it's great isn't it? We've freed Master Hemet! I still have the Shaman's rod, _and_ I can still continue the journey to stop Saurotos and Mernardi. I'm glad that I can help my friends without the burden of having Master captured hanging on my back" Ivan replied. They high-fived again, and Mia giggled.

"Hey guys, aren't we forgetting something? Whose idea was it to come and rescue master Hammet, anyways?" Isaac said, entering the conversation.

"Oh, Yeah! Thanks loads Mia, if you hadn't have thought of using Cloak to sneak into Dodonpa's palace, Master Hammet would still be stuck in there!

Mia flushed slightly at Ivan's words. "Oh… it was no problem… I'm sure one of you guys would have thought of it sooner or later…"

Isaac hit her playfully on the shoulder, "Come on now, don't be so modest! It was a brilliant idea. I'm just glad that Babi agreed to lend the Cloak Ball to us."

"Yeah…" Mia said, blushing a little deeper. She looked up slowly, and Isaac winked down at her before he turned away. "Alright guys, because there is a really good chance of encountering some of Dodonpa's men, tonight we are going to have to draw lots for watches. Short straw gets first watch!"

The four adventurers sat around the fire after dinner, awaiting the outcome of the lot drawing.

"Nuts!" Ivan said as he drew the short straw first. "I always get watch just when I want it the least."

Gar**r**et laughed as he got up from his seat, "That's how it always works, shorty. Enjoy it! I'm goin' to bed"

Mia walked up to Ivan as he was pouting. "I'm not short…! Man, I was getting close to that new shine psynergy, too… shucks. It seemed more powerful than the ones before."

"…If you want, I can switch watches with you, Ivan. I don't have one today, but you can owe me for tomorrow."

"Really? Thanks Mia! I've been communing with my djinn through meditation. It helps me to learn new psynergy, so I've wanted to do it for a few days now, but haven't had a chance. I would do it on a watch, but it requires my utmost concentration. Normally I can't even hear what is going on outside, much less be alert enough to hold watch."

"Alright. You go get some rest then. You too, Isaac. Our '_fearless leader_' can't be sleepy during the daytime, so get a good night's sleep," Mia told the two boys.

"OK! See you tomorrow!" They said in unison, and laughed as they went off to their tents.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Mia was sitting in front of the fire's smoldering embers, absently staring at the stars while scratching Fizz's head, lost in thought. That was why she liked first watch: it was some free time, just to think and reflect without the boys intruding, even if they did it accidentally. Today, her thoughts turned to her home in Imil, and the time that she spent there.

'_Life was always busy for the healer in Imil. The combination of extreme cold and bitter winds meant that there were always people _in_ needing _of_ healing. There was barely even time for Mia to eat or sleep during the cold and flu seasons, with the water at Hermes Fount being restrained by Mercury Lighthouse's inactive beacon. However, as much as she sometimes wished that she could light the beacon so the Fount could help her in her work, she knew that she could not. For it was the solemn duty of the Mercury clan to protect the lighthouse _from being lit_…_'

Mia's thoughts shied away from that touchy subject. She, the pride of the Mercury clan, had failed in her prime duty… '_No, I have been over this too many times, Isaac and all the others say that there was nothing more that I could have done…' _Mia thought as she broke from her reverie. Fizz crooned softly under her fingers, making Mia smile softly. Apart from Isaac, Mia was the closest person in the party to her djinn.

_Isaac… _Now **that** was another touchy subject, although for a different reason altogether. Mia was still unsure of her feelings for the Venus adept, but even she could tell that they were growing. Isaac made her feel like no other boy had before, but that might have been because she had never associated with one guy for more than the time it took for their illness to recover.

'_No, that can't be right… because then I would feel the same way towards Gar__**r**__et and Ivan…' _While she did like Ivan and Garret, neither made her feel the same way as Isaac did, even though all three were her precious friends.

Mia thought back on what had occurred since meeting Isaac and co. It was always Isaac who came to the forefront of her thoughts; how he had been the first to accept her at Mercury Lighthouse, moving the statues for her while Ivan and Garet debated over the merits of taking a girl into their party. How he had always been ready to leap to her defense in battle. How he had stayed behind to help her as she struggled in the intense heat of the Lamakan Desert and how anytime she was feeling down, he was there, with kind words and his bright smile. However, she knew that he would do those things for any of his friends, not just her… A small crashing sound in the bushes startled Mia, and she grabbed her Blessed Ankh asshe went to investigate '_If it's only another Rat, I'll take care of it myself, no need to wake the others...'_

Mia stopped short of the clearing where the rustling sound was, startled by the presence of psynergy. '_If this monster can use psynergy, I'd better investigate first,' _Mia thought, casting Cloak. If the monster really used psynergy, it would be able to see her outline, but Cloak would still help her remain mostly hidden. ­­­The "monster" in the clearing was actually Isaac, working his sword forms. '_Ah, that explains the psynergy leak,' _Mia thought. She turned to leave and return to her watch, but remembering her earlier thoughts, she decided to stay, just for a minute.

Isaac had his shirt off, and sweat was rolling down his body. Mia noted, blushing furiously at the thought, that Isaac was even more muscular than he let on when he was in his armor. His core and shoulder muscles rippled as he turned, the corded muscle in his arms bulging as he thrust the sword in a coup d'estoc thrust. His powerful calf muscles skyrocketed him into the air as he rotated, executing a balestra combined with a flip, a move designed to put him in a finishing position behind his opponent. Mia watched, enthralled, as Isaac pushed his body to, and beyond, its limits.

The thing that really drew Mia in was not his body though. It was his eyes. As he flowed from form to form with seemingly endless grace, his facial expression never once changed from the serious, intent look that he wore when fighting. But, now that Mia had time to watch him without worrying about herself or the other members of her party, she noticed that his eyes contained a fierce, unchained look of pure fire, eyes that showed the depth of his passion for the sword. Mia shuddered, overcome by the look, almost jealous of the way that he seemed so… free, and surprised by the young man's intensity. However right as she was about to leave, Isaac's dance ended.

"I guess Mia was right" he said to himself as he cooled down by stretching. "I really should get more rest. I haven't been feeling well recently. Prolly not enough sleep…" Mia overheard as he stretched to his full height, body shuddering with sinuous pleasure as each vertebra cracked slowly. "She really is such a nice girl… I wonder what she thinks of me..?"

Mia had been slowly sneaking back to the fire to resume her watch position, but she caught these last words and had to stifle a gasp. 'D_oes he mean what I think he does??? No, it can't be… it can't possibly be… He probably meant nothing of the sort… but… no! it can't be…it's got to be that he's just worried about Garet, Ivan and I think of him as a leader, ' _Mia thought as she fled back toward the camp.

When she reached the fire, her Cloak vanished, leaving her feeling a little drained from its constant use of psynergy. She heard Isaac enter his tent through the back entrance, which explained how he had gotten out to practice without her noticing. Mia was glad that he had not seen or heard her, for right now her heart was a little unstable, and a confrontation could go badly. What her heart needed right now was meditation and prayer.

As she settled into the seiza position, her traditional prayer seating, Mia began to categorize her thoughts.

_She had never had a boyfriend, never been in a relationship before. For one, her duties as a healer kept her so busy that, even had one of the boys wanted to see her, they would have so little time together that it would not have been easy. Yet, no one wanted to approach her. It was not because she wasn't pretty, but it was because she had so little self confidence. Even after she surpassed her teachers in the sacred art of Ply, she thought that her skill was worthless, despite encouragement from her teachers and fellow students. She also did not believe that she was even good looking, much less pretty. She almost neglected her azure hair, but that was a keepsake of her mother, so it was important to her._

_However, all that changed after she met Isaac. She had carefully watched him and his companions up the Mercury lighthouse, noting the ways that they fought together, understanding each other's moves to the point where the three men moved as one machine. She had been almost jealous, overcome by doubt that she could even hope to help them prevent the beacon from being lit. It was then that Isaac called her over and began explaining their battle tactics, and how she could be included if she wanted. She could clearly recall staring at him, thinking that he had read her mind. However, she shook her head to clear her thoughts, and then joined them in the fighting. _

_Atop the aerie, it had been her magic that had forced Saurotos to retreat, that had won them the battle, even though the beacon had been lit, a bittersweet moment. _

_The next memory came a few days after, when Isaac found Mia crying inside the Sanctuary, convinced that she had failed yet again, this time in her life's most important responsibility. After she had confessed her doubts, all of them, to the adept, he had just looked at her for a few moments '_Of course… I was right, He think that I am useless… I am useless' _she had thought, turning away and beginning to cry again. Then he did something that she had never expected: He slapped her full across the face. He explained in clear terms why she was not useless, but she had refused to believe him. After thinking for a minute, he had asked his djinn Flint to seal off his psynergy. He then took out his hunting knife and cut his own wrist, three times in quick succession before she could grab his arm and wrest the knife away. "What now?' he had asked. "I cannot heal myself, have no healing items, and if you try to run for help, I will surely die before you get back." She had gasped, and then cast Pure Ply, without even thinking. Isaac had then gathered her up in his arms and held her, stroking her hair until she had stopped weeping and shaking. "And that is why you are NOT a useless person. Never say it, no, never even think it again." He had left _shortly after_, leaving her to think by herself for a while._

_Mia had changed since that day. She slowly grew more and more open, both with others and herself. Any time that she began to relapse, Isaac and the others were there to help support her. She had noticed how Isaac had liked her beryl-colored hair, and she began to groom it daily, growing it almost down to her waist. She wondered how she had transformed from the shy girl that she was into the person she was now._

Mia fingered the silk hair tie that Isaac had bought for her when they stopped in Xian. She had been having trouble with her hair, and Isaac had noticed and bought her the expensive gift using his money that they had found after the fights with the apes in Mogall Forest. Then more recently, he had given her the Cocktail Dress that he had won at the Tolbi Lucky Medal Fountain. He had claimed that it had been an accident, and that he couldn't wear it anyways, but she had seen him leave the pool with spare lucky medals after winning the dress, a clear sign that the dress was what he had been after. Mia's eyes opened slowly as she realized that was when it had started. That was her feelings for him began. They had only expanded during his fights in Collosso, and had kept growing through the Suhalla Desert, and had continued during the trek back to Lunpa to rescue Hammet, after Mia had realized the saving Ivan's master was not only possible, but practical and likely to be worth the return investment. However, Mia had only realized it now:

She **liked** Isaac!

The Mercury adept was confused. She had talked with other girls back in Imil, but this was the first time she had ever experienced it herself. Actually this feeling ran deeper than what the others had talked about… It wasn't possible… "I know now that I like him, but there is no possible way that that I can… _love_him is there? No… we've only been together for a few months, it couldn't have developed that fast. "

After convincing herself that there was no way that she could love Isaac, at least not yet, Mia made herself think about whether Isaac could possibly like her. She knew that all the acts of kindness that he had shown to her could have been given to anyone, for Isaac had an infinite supply of kindness. Mia chuckled as she realized that one of the things that she liked most about him was currently the most frustrating. However, there was always a light in his eyes when he talked to her. "Maybe… just maybe…" Mia muttered to herself, fidgeting around with the silk hair tie. "After all, wasn't he the one who told me "Nothing is impossible"?"

As she sat wrapped in thought, a rough hand snaked around her mouth, prevent her from either breathing or making a sound. As she struggled against the darkness clouding the edges of her vision, she strained to reach her weapon, but it lay just out of her grasp. Fizz gasped and ran away, out of the camp

"What was that!!?" a dark, guttural voice asked sharply. "Who knows?" answered a thin, reedy voice. "Just let it go, it can't do much. Must be some tame monster."

"Ok. Boy, oh boy, the boss sure is a smart one. For a girl like this, who knows how much we can get at the market?" The surly-sounding one said. "Good point. Turning from thief to a kidnapping slaver sure was a good idea!" the reedy one replied.

The last thing that Mia thought of before losing consciousness was, strangely, the thing that had been on her mind all night:

'_ISAAC! Help M—'_

A/N: So, sorry about that cliffie. Chapter 1 is on the way, no worries! Also, I'm having trouble with the "page break" lines, so the really large spaces are for new paragraphs/ideas.

Until next time,

Patrick Coen (beastoftheast92)


	2. Chapter One Trepidacious Outset

**Hey guys, Beast here. Long time no talk, eh? Sorry. Please don't kill us. The reason involves an epic tale of school troubles, spammed emails and FIRED LAZORZ!!!! But anyways, here is the second chapter. My collective soul and I look forward to your feedback, so please leave a comment or review! (as long as its not flaming. Its hot enough with my broken A/C… ********) **

**Ohai, one more thing: O Mega-Lead is the BEST BETA READER EVER! Including the spam folder problem :p. **

**A/N: I don't own any of Camelot's awesomeness. PLZ DON'T SUE ME! Thanks. **

**(P: still cant get those stinking line breaks to work. However, I think you all should be able to get a grasp of where the plot switches focus. Sorry!)**

Isaac woke up and yawned contentedly. '_It sure was nice of Mia to take all the watches last night. It's been quite a while since any of us have had a chance to really rest. We'll have to let her take a night or two off.' _He thought as he stood up to exit the tent.

The first thing that Isaac saw was Ivan and Garet, deep in a serious conversation. The mood crackled like fire, anger with tinges of panic.

"Hey guys! What's wrong? And where is Mia?"

Garet and Ivan turned to him slowly. "Actually Isaac, we need to talk." Ivan said. "I had a dream last night that turned out to be a premonition…"

"WHAT!?" Isaac yelled after Ivan finished retelling the events of his dream. "Mia has been kidnapped? Damn it! I can't believe that she lost to mere bandits. Argh, they must have snuck up on her… Are you sure that you couldn't see any more in your dream Ivan?"

"No. I'm sorry Isaac." Ivan replied.

"Yeah. Ivan and I have already looked around the campsite, and there are visible signs of a struggle by the fire. My guess is that they came from behind and either knocked her out, or choked her until she fainted." Garet told Isaac with a somber look on his face.

"Also, her mace and armor were lying by the fire, but there is no trace of Fizz or any of Mia's healing items." Ivan added.

"We also looked around for tracks, but we couldn't find any. The bastards covered their trail well." Garet concluded.

Isaac stood still for several moments, thinking. "Okay, there was no body, no traces of blood, and her equipment is still here. All of these point to the fact that, one, she was indeed kidnapped, not killed, and that her__kidnappers intend to keep her alive. Good signs." "So, what are we going to do?" Ivan asked, looking around at the camp.

"Ok. Have you guys eaten yet? Isaac asked. "We can't do anything if we aren't ready for any challenges that may come our way." "Yeah." Garet replied. "We ate before you woke up."

"Mmmph. I need to eat. You two break the camp. When I finish eating, we'll move out."

"Ok."

Isaac's brain raced furiously as he ate. The kidnappers had done a good job covering their tracks, so he had no starting point to work with. Even then, assuming that they managed to find the route, it was likely to be a rough trip. While he could heal injuries to some extent, Isaac knew that not only was he not nearly as skilled a healer as Mia, he would have to save psynergy for fighting as well Right as Isaac finished his breakfast, the water in the cooking pot began to steam and boil. Isaac watched in shock as Fizz, Mia's djinn, formed its shape out of the steam. Fizz ran up to Isaac and butted her head against Isaac's leg, chattering rapidly.

'_Huh, that's unusual. I can understand Flint fine, but not Fizz? Weird…'_

"_Allow me to explain, Master Isaac." _Flint, Isaac's djinn, said to him.

"How many times have I told you not to call me Master? At the most formal, Isaac alone is enough!" Isaac retorted, sighing at the djinn's formal tone.

"_Yes, Mas-… Isaac-sama. You were wondering why you could not communicate with Fizz, no? It is because you are not of compatible elements. Venus and Mercury cannot communicate with each other. As a matter of fact, no adept can speak to any djinn outside of his or her element. You might be able to get a tiny inkling of what Forge is saying, but that is only because of the strong bond between Mars and Venus._

"So, wait. You can understand what Fizz is saying?"

"_Of course. Allow me a moment." _Flint began talking to Fizz in the same rapid babble as before.

"_Isaac-sama, this story will take a while. Please, finish your meal while I get the jist of the tale."_

Mia awoke with a splitting headache, groaning as she recalled the events of last night. Her hands had been bound cruelly behind her back, and she was tied down in the back of a slow-moving cart.

'_Ughh… I wish I had my hands free. This headache really needs some healing, and I can't perform Ply without my hands.'_ Mia thought, rotating her wrists slowly, searching her bonds for any weakness, any break that could help her escape. No such opportunities presented themselves, and before she could begin a more thorough search a voice spoke nearby.

"Well, look who is awake! 'Bout time, too," said a deep voice that she recognized from last night.

"If you hadn't have choked her for so long, then she wouldn't have been unconscious for so long. You never did learn to control yourself, did you Raul?"

"She didn't die, did she? So it's all good, right, Damien

"I guess. Boss said as long as she didn't die or wasn't cut up too bad that we could do whatever we wanted…"

While they were talking, Mia began devising a plan. If she could escape and hide away for a while, she would be able to get signals to Isaac and everyone else. '_All I need is a little water to touch my hands, or maybe a sip of water to restore my internal balance'_ she thought, craning her head and looking for a small puddle in the cart. However, the cart was bone-dry, and no water was available.

'_I wonder if or how they know that if I don't have the proper amount of body fluids, I can't form ice from the air?'_ Mia thought, cracking her neck and wrists, but__her attention was torn back to the conversation as she heard a few dreadful words:

"Anything we want, hey? Anything… Haha. She really is quite pretty, isn't she?" Raul said, halting the cart. "Anything we want. You know, it's been quite a long time since I've had me a good woman, Damien."

"Ah, indeed. Same here, actually." Damien said, his nasally voice lowered almost to a purr.

'_No… O Gods, please, no! NO!!' _Mia almost cried out in her mind when she realized what they were talking about and began struggling frantically at the ropes that held her down. '_Anything, anything else, please, God!'_

"Heh. What say we take advantage of this situation, then?"

"Of course. I was thinking exactly the same thing that you were, Raul."

Raul had circled around to the back of the wagon during this conversation. "Awwww, look, she struggling! Good, it's more fun that way…"

Mia twisted her arms furiously, trying just to break free, to get away, but to no avail. She was securely bound.

Raul had reached her, laughing quietly to himself. "Don't worry baby, no one can hear you scream…" He said, grabbing at her robes. He took an end in each hand, and tore them straight down the middle, lifting her up off the cart back and tearing the backs of her arms in the process.

"Holy Shit! Look at that, Damien!" Raul said, whistling.

"Phewee! Man, I never woulda guessed what was hidden under those robes!" Damien said, staring lewdly.

Mia was sobbing, tears running down her face just as the blood from her cuts was running down her arms, pooling in her hands. In a flash, she realized that she had one chance left. Concentrating, she slowly froze the globs of blood running down her arms into two separate ice chunks. As the two kidnappers stared at her naked body, she fed blood into her attacks. Just as she deemed that she had enough blood to hold them off, her attackers approached.

"Don't worry honey; we'll be reeeal gentle-like now. NOT!" Raul said, laughing.

"Oh don't worry. I'm not gonna be gentle either." Mia said, lifting the ice particles with her psynergy. They glowed, blood red, as they sped toward their targets.

"OW, What the-!" Oh my god! My arm! I can't move my arm!" Raul screamed.

Mia looked and saw that she had hit him in a critical shoulder joint. "Serves you right" she said, kicking out at him and knocking him to the ground.

"You little bitch! I'm going to kill you!" Damien roared, drawing a wicked hooked dagger. Mia, noting that she had hit him in the stomach and the amount of blood covering his body, turned his blood to ice, sealing off his sword arm.

Having immobilized both attackers, she used the remaining ice she had to free her hands, sawing off the ropes. She found some water and drank it down greedily.

Both the kidnappers were attempting to get back up, but the Mercury adept was back in full form now. She conjured ice and wrapped her captors in sheets of ice, sealing off both their movements and speech.

'_That ice will melt before they freeze to death, and it should stop the blood flow. No matter how evil they might be, I cannot bring myself to kill a human being. It would be wrong, more wrong than anything that they could have done to me.'_ Mia thought as she turned away from the two chunks of ice that were her captors.

She cast Ply on herself and gasped as cold relief flooded through her body.

Making sure her captors were fully frozen, Mia retrieved her torn robes. Fortunately, they had been ripped right down a previous tear caused by a monster. She drew out the small sewing kit that she kept on her at all times and set to work repairing her clothes.

"_Isaac-sama, I believe I understand now."_ Flint said, breaking of his conversation with Fizz.

"That quickly? It was only a few minutes."

"_Yes, it was. Apparently what happened was that Mia had heard you practicing your sword forms, and went to investigate. After finding out that it was you, and not a monster she returned to the fire to keep watch. However, it appears that she let her guard down, and enemies snuck up behind her. Two human males. Fizz could not understand their speech, but they strangled Mia until she was unconscious, then the bigger one carried Mia away while the smaller one covered the tracks and laid false trails. However, you have an advantage; Fizz can follow Mia's essence straight to her, wherever she is."_

"Really? That's excellent!" Isaac said, relieved that they could set off immediately.

"What's excellent?" Ivan asked, striding over to where Isaac was sitting.

"We can follow Mia's trail through Fizz."

"Ah! So then, when are we leaving?"

"Now." Isaac said, rising slowly from the stump. He buckled on his sword belt, adjusting it so that the blade sat ready in its scabbard. Someone had taken one of his dearest friends and companions, and they had better believe that there would be hell to pay. In fact, Hell wouldn't even **begin** to cover the cost.

Now that Mia had finished mending her clothes, she was ready to start finding her way back to her friends. Casting Douse in several spots, she made multiple Frost pillars in the shape of stairs.

'_This should be high enough'_ she thought to herself, and made a moving river of ice that she could stand on to look for landmarks.

Just as she had found her bearings, she noted something out of the corner of her eye. A man with odd, white-hued hair and a strong build was surveying the scene where she had left. He saw the two downed kidnappers and Mia's Ice stairs, and burst into action.

"Sealing Circle!" He yelled, throwing a scrap of paper in the air. All of the sudden, Mia's psynergy flow stopped. She gasped as she tumbled towards the ground, unable to stop her fall, watching as the ground drew closer and closer, along with the specter of death.

All of the sudden, her downward movement was arrested, hard enough to whip her head around. The white haired man had dove and caught her. The blow to her neck caused Mia to faint instantly.

She woke up multiple times as the man was laying her down, quick returns to consciousness that faded equally as quickly. The only thing she heard was the man talking to himself as he covered her with a blanket.

"Oh, gods of Mars! I didn't want to do anything like this. But I must…"


	3. Chapter 3

_…._

So, I return! After much stuff went down, including college, girls, and a suicide attempt, I am back! Sorry this took so long, but… yea. Anyways, its an extra long special to kinda try to make up for the delay. To all of those who read this, thank you for you support! Feedback is appreciated :p

PS: I don't own Golden Sun (sadly) or any of Camelot.

A/N: OMGWTFBBQ GOLDEN SUN DARK DAWN! WE FINALLY GET A SEQUEL! 

Mia awoke with a splitting headache and a burning pain in her neck. A blanket had been tented over her body, and a rare mist potion was being boiled, the soothing vapors spreading around her, unleashing their healing magics. She remembered everything that had happened to her right before her fall from her ice pillar, so she knew that she had suffered no severe injuries and should be all right soon.

'_All right. Time to see what I can do'_ Mia thought to herself. '_PLY!' _ As soon as she tried to concentrate on forming the psynergy, the pain in her head roared to a new height, and she lost control of the healing Mercury vapors.

'_Interesting,'_ she thought. '_I am not restrained, and although I cannot cast right now, it seems that I was given water while I slept. I take it that I am not in the "hospitable care" of those two thugs from before. Maybe I can risk moving around and meeting my current caretaker.' _Mia got up, stoppered the remainder of the mist potion before putting it in her pocket, and brushed away the tented blanket. She was in a clearing on the fringes of a lightly wooded forest. To her right she could see the valley where the man who sealed her psynergy and made her fall had foiled her "escape".

'_Well… Maybe I should give him some benefit of the doubt.'_ Mia thought. '_After, he did catch me as I fell… Either way, I need to be careful. I can't make any mistakes, or I might be captured again.' _Mia spotted her overcoat folded on a nearby stump. She grabbed it, and, shrugging it on, looked around to get her bearings so she could begin to return to Isaac and company. '_Isaac…' _she thought, a little wistfully. She had had no chance to really continue her thoughts about the golden-haired Venus adept after she had been abducted, but she knew one thing: as much as she wanted to see Garet and Ivan as well, Mia knew that the thing that she was looking forward to most was seeing Isaac again. As she was thinking about this, a twig snapped behind her. Snapped from her reverie, Mia grabbed a thick branch off the ground and spun to face the man entering the clearing. Recognizing the face as that of the white-hairedman who had sealed her psynergy and almost killed her yesterday, she gathered the strength of her ice around her.

"So, you have awakened. I had feared you would want to fight me at first. Fine. So be it."

He raised a burning aura of Mars psynergy around himself. Mia could feel the heat radiating out from him, even thought he had not actually created any flames. Mia, recognizing that she was overmatched even with her advantage over the Mars element, lowered her powers and tossed aside her makeshift staff.

"Good. I am glad to see that you have common sense. Come, please sit down. I apologize for the behavior of my subordinates earlier, they were naught but common thieves hired for a single purpose. I am in no way going to hurt you, and I would like you to hear my side of the story. I swear to this on the sacred name of Mars."

Isaac called back to Ivan and Garet, telling them to hurry up. They responded by telling him to cool off and that they needed to stop soon, or they would be traveling in the dark.

"Isaac, we need to stop for the night! This is a perfect camp spot, so we should stop here."

Isaac debated it for a minute then grudgingly acquiesced to their request. As soon as camp was pitched, Isaac left to train, as he had every night of the chase.

Steel ripped through wood, sending chips flying everywhere. Isaac pulled his wakasazhi through the stroke, rending the thick tree branch. As he spun to complete a sky-to-ground sweep, the sword struck the tree trunk, tearing itself from his hands. Disgusted, Isaac smashed the sword blade deep in the ground. Sinking to the ground next to his waka, Isaac clutched his head in his hands. Every night since Mia had been kidnapped, he tried to calm his mind with bladework, like he had always done, but it no longer seemed to work. He only lost focus and grew more and more angry.

'_Why? Why am I so Goddamn frustrated?'_ Isaac thought to himself, wiping sweat off of his brow. _'I can't seem to get my thoughts in order, the forms won't come to me, and I haven't been sleeping… ugh.'_

"Um, Isaac? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ivan said, entering the clearing that Isaac had been using for training.

"… Fine. I can't focus anyways. What do you need?" Isaac answered, closing his eyes and leaning against the scarred tree trunk.

"Well, I just have something that I think you should know. Actually, you might already know, seeing as it about you."

"About me… what do you mea-?"

"-I swear I didn't break our promise, I haven't used mind read on you, but it seems that with the advance of my Jupiter psynergy, I have become able to read people's emotions. Actually, I can control it yet but –"Ivan interrupted, words tripping over each other in a haste to get out of his mouth.

"Hold on, slow down. Get to the effing point, Ivan, I'm not cut out for bullshit today – my brain is on fire." Isaac said, massaging his temples.

"Ok…" Ivan replied, looking a little hurt. "Like I said, I can almost… see people's emotions now. I can't control it yet, so every time I see someone with strong emotions, the emotions flow over and create a sort of aura around the person. I discovered this power just a little bit ago, right after Mia was kidnapped. I have been working to control it, but it's a slow process. The night I discovered it, I almost went crazy – It was like I was looking into everyone's dreams. Now it is a lot better, but I still can't turn it off yet."

"Interesting, but what does it _mean_, Ivan?" Isaac asked, slightly annoyed.

"I was getting there." Ivan replied testily. "Just calm down, will you? This is important!"

"Fine… Give me just a second, ok?" Isaac replied. He channeled a small amount of psynergy and created a small ball of earth. As he did before practicing with a blade, he channeled emotions into the rock, one by one. It hadn't worked lately, but it was worth another shot. After relieving his stress into the ball and throwing it high into the air, Isaac turned back to Ivan.

"Sorry, I was just… bleh."

"It's okay." Ivan said. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Like I was saying, I see these auras of strong emotions. What I was getting at is that I see you constantly surrounded by this aura, and it glows brighter than our fires at night."

"Well, that's understandable, isn't it? I mean, Mia is missing, and we still haven't found her. We are falling behind Felix and the others, and this whole quest is starting to look fucking impossible! I can't even keep our party together, damnit!"

Isaac's words built into a crescendo until the final epithet rang from his lungs with the force of a scream. Lungs heaving, Isaac turned to Ivan, who stood waiting, taking deep breaths and trying to remain calm.

"I can't even maintain control of myself, Ivan. My emotions and thoughts are a giant mess in my head. I cannot… I can't even work the blade anymore. The single most calming thing that I can do only frustrates me. I am sorry for yelling at you, I really am, but I can't even think straight.

"That is _exactly_ what I am trying to talk to you about, God damn it, Isaac!" the Jupiter adept roared, point at Isaac with an accusing finger.

Isaac stared, temporarily snapped back to reality by the strength of the gentle wind user's words. Ivan stared back, and after a moment, they both sighed and chuckled.

"Now that we are both a little calmer, listen to me." Ivan said "This will only take a second. I think I know why you are so confused inside. First I must ask you: What do you feel about Mia?'

Isaac was completely caught off-guard by the question. "Well, she's one of my good friends and precious companions – She's just as important to me as you or Garet is."

"Ahh. I see. You don't understand, do you?" Ivan pondered for a minute. "Hmm, I think… yes, I'm going to ask you another question before I explain. Would you be chasing after these kidnappers if it was Garet or I that was missing?"

"Of course I would! What are you trying to get at? You guys mean the world to me!"

"I believe you, Isaac. However, would have completely forgotten about your quest? I know you, and your loyalty to your task would keep you constantly fretting about chasing after Felix."

"Well, maybe that's why I've been so pissed off lately! Thanks, Ivan! Now that I understand-"

"But you don't understand, Isaac. That's what I'm trying to get to – I don't think that you have thought about our quest since Mia was kidnapped. As a matter of fact, I don't think the thought has even crossed your mind. I think what is angering you is something different entirely. No, let me finish." Ivan said, waving off the Earth adept's attempts to speak.

"I think what is angering you is an emotion you don't know you have. Every time you think of Mia, especially when I asked about her earlier, the strength of the emotion aura around you doubles. Most of what I see is obvious to you, like the grey of anxiety, the brown of worry, and the red of anger. But underneath all of this lies a cord of gold. This gold is love, Isaac. There is no other explanation – the reason why you have been so angry is that the woman you love, whether you know it or not, has been taken from you. I can see by you face that what I said has left you dumbstruck, so I am going to leave you for a little while. Please consider what I have told you, and don't worry – I know enough not to tell Garet," The young man turned and left the earth adept with his jaw dropped to the ground.

'_Wait… what! Did he just – Do…? Am I… No, can't be… Well, what if?´ _Isaac's thoughts were so deep in a confused rut; he didn't even know what to think. Judging that he had nothing better to do considering his blade practice had been cut short Isaac decided to think it over. Settling back against the stump in a more comfortable way, the Venus adept began to organize his thoughts.

Mia sat back, trying to gather her thoughts and wrap them around the massive idea the white haired man had just given her.

"So, let me get this straight – sealing the lighthouses may have started killing the world? Relighting them may be the only way to stop the erosion of the entire world? Saturos and Menardi are the _good guys?_ Are you kidding me?" She asked, letting her confusion show.

"No," the man replied. "I swear on Mars that this is all the truth – the world around my hometown has begun to deteriorate, and the lighthouses must be lighted. I am not saying that your group is the bad guys in this situation, but I know that Saturos and Menardi are in the right."

"So, why kidnap me? What is the point?" Mia asked, slowly coming to understand the gravity of the man's words.

"Actually, your group is impressive in its tenacity and strength - Saturos and Menardi sent me to slow you down. I felt that abducting one of the members would be the most efficient way. You had the bad luck of being on watch when my plan was implemented. However, I again find myself impressed with your companions. They continue to gain ground, despite that my men left no traces. I believe that if we move at my projected pace, they will have caught us by tomorrow or the day after at the very latest."

Mia was filled with warmth inside at the thought of how hard her friends were pushing themselves to save her. Before she had met Isaac and co, she had never really had a friend. Now she knew what true friends are.

The man interrupted her thoughts, saying "Now that you are well enough to move, we must continue on. You have seen my power, and know it, so I will give you two options – You accompany me without struggling or attempting to escape and you will travel without restraints or pain of any sort. Or, you can try to run away. Your time with me will not be nearly so pleasant should you chose this."

Mia thought for a few minutes before accepting the man's hand up. "I will take the first choice, provided it takes no more than three days for my companions to catch us. Should it take longer than that, I may consider escape."

"That is acceptable. Now that we are travelling companions, no matter what the circumstances, I must know your name. I did not hear it from Saturos or Menardi." The man said, readying his pack.

"Mia."

"Mia, huh? An interesting name." The man turned to look at her, light shining in the hard red eyes set deep in his head.

"As for me, my name is Agatio."

Chapter fin.

So, How did you guys like the bad guy? I realized that I screwed up when I played TLA again – His hair is white in the convo sprite, but in battle it shows that it is purple. My b. :/


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